Patrick Vlaskovits

One unexpected pattern when studying the lives of generational talents: many were completely unremarkable in their 20s. The breakthrough came much later. Edison was 32 before the phonograph. Curie was 36 when she isolated radium. Franklin was 40 before he turned to work on electricity. Darwin was 50 when he published On the Origin of Species, after two decades of barnacle taxonomy. The average age of a unicorn founder in the US at incorporation is… 42. By the standards of contemporary “30 under 30” culture, a huge number of these late bloomer would have been written off long before they did the thing that mattered. The unremarkable years waiting for the breakthrough weren't wasted time. They were the loading phase accumulating obsessions, technical fluency and pattern recognition from years of mundane groundwork. The world rewards the breakthroughs and forgets the loading phase. There is no shortcut through it. You can't compress the painful ordinary years that are required to birth genius.

When you become PM of Hungary (or any other small borderland country stuck between Great Powers), they beckon you in a dark room and hand you a slim leather-bound book written in a 1,000 year old dialect of your language and motion you to sit down at bare wooden table. You carefully crack open the ancient book, a dank musty odor assaults you as you read: Congratulation on your stunning victory. Allow us to get to the point: you are small and you are without resources or leverage. To achieve anything that remotely resembles national sovereignty, you must eschew principle and embrace cunning, flattery and pragmatism. Play East and West against each. Don't get to close to either to avoid being sucked into their vortex. You are forever sailing between Scylla and Charybdis. That is the game. Good luck. Signed by every former leader of your nation since it became a nation

Vending machines in Budapest, 1970s.

🧵In an upside down world, we are currently lamenting the fact that the teen birth rate is low, that teens are not having sex, and that teens are drinking less (as if these bad things). The only drinking teens do is binge drinking, btw. Yes, phone isolation is a problem but. . .

Péter Magyar gave the press a tour of propaganda minister Antal Rogán's newly renovated, and now abandoned headquarters in Buda Castle. Just look at this luxury mansion, complete with a cigar room for prominent guests. All this in one of the poorest countries of the EU.

People often say, “I hate when people paint brick! It ruins it.” But we’ve built some beautiful painted brick buildings at Building Culture. The key is knowing what kind of paint to use. Drop a dry brick into a bucket of water, and it will soak up moisture like a sponge. Brick is porous; it naturally absorbs water and releases it. The problem with typical paint, latex or oil-based, is that it forms a coating that essentially seals the brick. What happens when the brick gets wet? The water can’t get out. It’s trapped. This can ultimately damage the brick, particularly in climates where it freezes, and especially with historic, multi-wythe masonry buildings. The brick needs to breathe. But beyond the masonry's durability, it’s also an aesthetic issue. Peeling paint is ugly. The right answer is a mineral stain, and the three options are limewash, potassium silicate, and sol silicate. Mineral stains don't sit on top of the brick; they penetrate the surface and fuse with it. They are breathable, colored with earth pigments, highly alkaline – making them mold resistant – and, depending on which one you choose, can be far more durable. A well-applied sol silicate can last over 50 years. Limewash, on the other hand, washes away over time. Literally. But it doesn’t look like peeling paint. It looks weathered. It’s actually the look people are often going for, but they try to achieve it with a faux-aged finish. But if you just use the right material and then let time do its thing? You can get a beautiful outcome. See the pictures below. These were built in 2018, so the limewash is now 7+ years old. When first applied, it’s a solid white. But after seven years, the limewash is wearing away – in a natural way. If you want this look, use limewash. If you want a solid paint that will last for decades, use potassium silicate or sol silicate. The Germans actually invented potassium silicate in the 19th century because limewash wouldn’t hold up in their harsh climates. Sol silicate is a newer invention and very impressive. I think the reason people often hate on painted brick in the US is because 95% of the time, it’s the wrong paint. The rubber-like coating from oil-based, latex, and even many “masonry paints” smooths out all the texture of the brick. You lose a lot of character. Mineral stains don’t do this. It still feels like a real brick building. The texture comes through. People don’t go to Europe and hate the painted masonry buildings. They’re beautiful and charming. It’s because they’re using the right paint. One more key (and nerdy) fact for why people love European painted brick, but not US painted brick: mineral stains have a characteristic called “double refraction”. One light wave hits it, and it splits off two. It gives it this soft glow. But NOT glossy. It’s actually a chalky look – but doesn’t look flat (as we think of flat paint in the US, which reflects very little light). It’s chalky AND glows. That’s the double refraction. You simply can’t replicate this with petroleum-based products. It’s a chemical thing. Don’t get me wrong: I love natural brick buildings, and we do a lot of those. But, with the right paint, and for the right project, painted brick can be absolutely stunning. You can check out mineralstains dot com if you are looking for a supplier of quality mineral stains. Have had the owner on the podcast and he's extremely knowledgeable.